My newspaper, a must!

A relationship that we must protect – Across Quebec, people discuss, recognize each other and live together through their local paper. Each week, 178 bearers of news enter people’s home for free and without discrimination to inform them of what is going on in their neighbourhood, in their village, in their region…to talk about their son, their uncle, their neighbour, their mayor or their grocer. A love story, based on truth and transparence, experienced by 6,5 millions of Quebecor. A relationship that we must protect because everywhere in the province, the citizens, the organizations, the elected and the entrepreneur deserve to be heard when they state: My newspaper, a must.

My newspaper, a must because…

Newspaper has a role of proximity with the community, meaning it transmis information on what is happening in our area. Information about people, ongoing projects, what is happening in our community. For instance, what children are learning and doing at school.

Sonia Pagé

The newspaper has been part of my life for such a long time. Even as a child, my parents were subscribers to the newspapers and we would receive it at home. We would use it at school, or a teacher would invite us to read an article and we would discuss it in class.

Bianca Jacques

No, it shouldn’t disappear, because it is a reference. People are looking forward to open and read the paper. Young and elderly, because it covers what happens in the region, the economy, the sports section…we shouldn’t witness the disappearance of our newspapers.

Denis Bolduc

I find archives important, and with the newspaper, we have the whole story of the region almost day to day. If we would lose the newspapers, it’s an important page of history that we would lose.

Régent Charland

If we wouldn’t see the impact on people from our advertising in the newspapers, we would stop, but no, it still has its place.

Karelle Bélanger

It’s one of the only media that can reach people in their living room. That they take time to browse, to watch their news and mostly to keep it with them. The newspaper, you touch it, you see it, you read it.

Sébastien Lévesque

It’s a traditionnal medium, and I might be from old school, but to touch the paper, to take the time to look through it, I would have a hard time removing this from my habits.

Joanne Lortie

We don’t even dare to imagine this. If it would be the newspaper dropping, we would be under the impression that we are a devitalized region to the point where it can’t even support a newspaper, it would be hard hit.

Patrick Noël

Manic has been a partner for several years to support us (Relais pour la Vie de Baie-Comeau), it’s important since it’s a public event that reunited thousands of walkers and people need to be informed.

Stéphanie Tremblay

It would remove lots of visibility; people have a feeling of belonging. It would be a great loss.

Patricia Lavoie

It’s a team that is close knit. At a sportive level, cultural or economic, the information is of superior quality. It’s a catalyst, it’s a stimulator for the economy. It’s a must and we should not take it for granted.

Bernard Filiatrault

Testify your love toward your local newspaper

Together, let’s demonstrate our interest to transparent information and let’s create a collective movement to the greatness of our love!

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A fundamental right

The publication of public notices in regional newspapers is at stake as far as transparence and protection of healthy democracy! No matter what some people are saying, to this day, we don’t know any media other than free regional newspapers that are distributed directly to each citizen regardless of their age, social status, income, and without any pre-selection, without searching and without considering their technological competences. The right to an unfiltered information, neutral, credible and verified, is a FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT; it is an indispensable bulwark to our democracy.

Picture of the situation

Bill 122 forecast that municipalities won’t have to publish their public notices in local newspapers.. We are talking about a serious infringement toward the transparence of information coming from the municipalities. The public access to municipal information would be directly violated since the accessibility of public notices would then be reduced and citizen would have to make a constant effort to retrieve that information for which we should facilitate the access. Concretely, it reversing the burden on the citizen who from now on, must search for the information on projects and decisions that will affect HIS or HER life in HIS or HER city.

In Quebec, the productions broadcast on most media benefit from subsidies or tax credits; televisions, radios, community channel…. everything besides newspapers. Even Finland, Norway, Sweden, France, United Kingdom and United States, they all offer an aid program to print media which reach up yearly to two billion dollars. In Quebec, up to this day: NOTHING, NADA.

In 2004, the Federal government invested 20 M $ in local newspapers, when in 2014, the amount dropped to 357 000$ which represents a reduction of 98% for Canadian newspapers. In that same year, the government of Canada invested 4,7 M$ in advertising on both Facebook and Google, American enterprises that generate no benefit to our country, pay no taxes and on which we have no control. In short, your government take your money and send it directly to the Americans. What will happen when Facebook and Google will change their algorithms? Already they decide what you can or cannot see on Facebook. Will we be to their mercy? Is it what we want? That those 2 American giants decide and control the information to which we have access and that is necessary to our democracy..

Since 2006, printed newspapers are obliged to participate in the financing of the net costs of municipal curbside services. For example, over the past 10 years, newspapers have seen their contribution to the cost of recycling of paper in the province increase by 1075%. In fact, some newspapers must, in addition to their taxes, pay up to $ 100,000 in recycling costs. Amount that is then returned to the municipalities. Why it is called the law of the “last man standing”? It’s simple, because the amount of the invoice, which is closer to $ 10,000,000, has to be paid to the government, regardless the number of newspapers in Quebec. In fact, if the number of newspapers decreases, everyone’s bill increases and if one day only one remains, he SHALL assume the 10 million alone! An aberration, a nonsense… Why should newspapers pay government to give citizens access to information, a fundamental right in our society? Such a law is completely abusive.